JARRAH AL SILAWI TIMES THE KNEE
PERFECTLY!#PFLonFuboTV
pic.twitter.com/IeisKHpxy0— PFL (@PFLMMA)
February 26, 2022
Jarrah
Al-Silawi has a new home.
The two-division
Brave Combat Federation champion knocked out Michael
Lilly in the first round of their
PFL Challenger Series 2 headliner on Friday at Universal
Studios in Orlando, Florida. After Al-Silawi (17-3) drew the
curtain 2:54 into Round 1 of their 177-pound catchweight clash, he
was rewarded with a
Professional Fighters League contract.
Lilly (7-7) was woefully outgunned. Al-Silawi probed for weakness
with leg kicks, stuffed an attempted takedown and floated into open
space. He approached Lilly from the outside, feinted and caught him
with the knee as he ducked into a takedown. The MMA Masters product
collapsed backward and fell to the canvas, and though Al-Silawi was
in hot pursuit, referee Andrew Glenn had seen enough.
Meanwhile, Sanford MMA export Dilano
Taylor was awarded a technical knockout over Mark Martin
in the welterweight co-feature. Having suffered severe gruesome
damage to his left eye, Martin (7-2) was declared unfit to continue
in between the first and second rounds.
A Titan Fighting Championship titleholder, Taylor (8-1) was
fortunate to escape with a win. Martin controlled much of the first
period with stout left hands, heavy pressure and a late takedown.
However, he absorbed a pair of right hooks from Taylor, resulting
in grotesque swelling to his left eye. The cageside physician
examined Martin during the intermission and recommended the fight
be stopped.
Taylor has rattled off seven consecutive victories.
Elsewhere, Carlos
Leal Miranda wiped out Korey Kuppe
with punches in the first round of their welterweight
confrontation. Kuppe (9-5) checked out 56 seconds into Round 1,
suffering the most lopsided defeat of his 14-fight career.
Miranda (15-3) swarmed at the outset, floored his 6-foot-5
adversary with a right hand and never took his foot off the gas. He
pounced with follow-up punches, assumed top position and applied
some hammerfist-laden ground-and-pound. Miranda eventually rose to
his feet and dropped standing-to-ground punches until the job was
done.
The 27-year-old Miranda has won nine fights in a row, six of them
finishes.
Finally, Chris Mixan
put away Nathan
Pierce with punches in the second round of their catchweight
pairing at 174 pounds. Pierce (3-2) succumbed to blows 1:29 into
Round 2, his two-fight winning streak having run its course.
Mixan (3-1) utilized a six-inch reach advantage, unleashed an
effective jab and pieced together crisp punching combinations. He
opened a cut on the bridge of Pierce’s nose in the first round and
turned up the heat in the second. There, Mixan doubled over his
counterpart with a series of left hooks to the body, mixed in a few
knee strikes to the head and went back downstairs to prompt the
stoppage.